Purpose: To work on rebounding, aggressiveness, and toughness in a competitive drill. Drill: Three players at a basket with a coach or manager and one basketball. The players set up as shown; one on each block and one in the middle of the lane. The coach ‘shoots’ the basketball off the rim and the three...

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The Protect the Basketball Toughness Drill simulates blocking out, however, the objective is to keep your opponent away from the basketball. This is a toughness drill for both players as one attempts to protect the basketball, while the other player attempts to get the basketball. Drill: A basketball is placed in the middle of the...

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I came across this drill in a stack of some old handouts. This drill is named after legendary Oklahoma State University Coach Hank Iba. This is a fantastic drill — not only for the skills it develops, but also that it greatly builds toughness! Purpose: To teach players the skills of help defense and taking...

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Purpose: To work on the ability to fully deny an inbounds pass. The main purpose with this drill, however, is as a toughness drill. Drill: The players set up as shown, with an inbounds passer, a offensive player, and a defender. The defender, X2, faces O2 and attempts to deny the pass attempt being made...

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Purpose: To practice and develop decision-making abilities in a full speed game situation. Offensive players will also work on scoring when a basket is needed. Defensive players will work on stopping the offense from scoring when that is needed. Also a great drill to improve conditioning. Drill: Divide your squad into 2 teams, with 5...

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Go beyond working on rebounding with this drill that also incorporates competition, toughness, and intensity. This drill requires three players; two players on defense start in the lane. One player on offense starts at the free throw line. A coach or manager has a basketball and can shoot from anywhere. When the shot is taken,...

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Purpose: To work on rebounding in traffic and taking the basketball up strong against pressure. The offensive player will have to use fundamental moves to score and the defensive player works on giving intense inside pressure. Drill: Two players and one basketball per basket. O1 has the ball and stands near the low block on...

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Purpose: To develop toughness and to prepare players against double-teaming and pressure situations. Drill: Two defenders (X4, x5) start just outside the lane. A third defender (x1), starts at the top. O3 starts at about the free throw line while O1 starts at the top of the key. A coach has the basketball. When the...

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Purpose: Toughness. Flat-out toughness in rebounding is necessary in order to be successful in this drill. Drill: 2 defensive players start inside the lane. 5 offensive players start outside the lane. The top boundary is either the jump circle (if you even have that marking on your court), or the top line on the free...

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Purpose: To work on overall team defense and develop the teamwork and communication skills necessary to play great team defense. The competitive situation also helps to develop defensive toughness. Drill: The Three Stops 4-on-4 Team Defense Drill is competitive in that requires the defense to have three consecutive successful stops. Divide your squad into teams...

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